1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed and claimed herein generally pertains to a method and apparatus for locating and retrieving specified content, wherein the content is in a database containing digitized data that has been compressed. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein the digital data includes compressed audio or video data derived from the speech of one or more speakers. Even more particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein the specified content may be located and retrieved from the database without first decompressing other portions of the compressed data that are unrelated to the specified content.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, a great deal of important business information is exchanged during discussions involving two or more persons. The discussions can include face-to-face meetings, and can also include conference calls using devices such as telephones or video conferencing equipment. The material discussed can include substantial amounts of detailed technical or financial information. Accordingly, it is often necessary to make a record of the discussions, and to retain the record for future reference or other use.
For conferences of the above type, the task of recording associated audio and video data continues to become progressively easier and less expensive. The recorded audio data can include every word of each conference participant, and video data can include viewable images of respective participants as they speak. Recordings can be made of the same participants for successive discussions that take place over a period of time and cover a number of different topics. However, all such data, both audio and video, is inherently analog in nature. On the other hand, to most effectively process, transmit and store such data, the recorded analog audio and video data should be converted into digital form. The digitized data can also be compressed, for more compact and efficient storage.
Notwithstanding the benefits of storing and compressing data as described above, there can also be significant disadvantages, if it becomes necessary to locate and retrieve a particular portion of such data. For example, it may be desired to access all statements in a compressed audio data file that were made by a particular participant in regard to a particular topic. In one obvious prior art approach, the entire audio data file would first be decompressed and converted to analog form. The audio data would then be manually checked, by listening for the desired statements. If the analog data comprised eight hours of audio recording, for example, eight hours of listening would be required.
In another prior art approach for searching compressed audio and video data, different segments or portions of the data files are labeled with brief text. These text labels are then available, at some time in the future, for searching and matching by means of a text search engine. However, since this prior art approach is entirely text based, text labels must be applied extensively to the audio and video data files. Otherwise, the text search engine could miss important elements contained in such files. At present, the text labels must be manually created and applied, and this can require a substantial amount of effort.
Clearly, it would be beneficial to provide a more efficient and completely automated procedure for searching for specified content included in compressed audio and video data files, and for retrieving such content after it was located.